This section provides information helpful in understanding the invention but that is not necessarily prior art.
Golf ball core and cover layers are typically constructed with polymer compositions including, for example, polybutadiene rubber, polyurethanes, polyamides, ionomers, and blends of such polymers. Ionomers, particularly ethylene-based ionomers, are a preferred group of polymers for golf ball layers because of their toughness, durability, and wide range of hardness values.
Golf ball compositions comprising highly neutralized acid polymers are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,375,151, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a highly-resilient thermoplastic ionomer resin composition comprising (a) melt-processible, ethylene acid copolymer; (b) aliphatic, mono-functional organic acid or its salt; (c) a thermoplastic resin; (d) a cation source; and (e) optionally, a filler. The ionomer resin may be neutralized to greater than 90% of all the acid groups present and remain melt-processible. The patent discloses using the highly-resilient thermoplastic composition in one-piece, two-piece, three-piece, and multi-layered golf balls.
Construction of a thermoplastic ball, in which all layers are thermoplastic, must provide performance characteristics. While various uses for highly neutralized acid polymers in golf balls have been discovered, there is a need to improve golf ball materials using highly neutralized acid polymers or other thermoplastic polymers to devise particular golf ball constructions having desirable spin, feel, COR, or other properties.